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INTERVIEW WITH Norma Hanson Gilmore
F.C.H.S. GRADUATE 1921
MAY 30, JUNE 5,1978
BY ANNA ZELLICK
F.C.H.5. GRADUATE, 1935
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO- A.B. 1941; M.A. 1945
LECTURER, COLLEGE OF GREAT FALLS AT LEWISTOWN COLLEGE CENTER
PREPARED FOR DR. RONALD B. MAnSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND LEWISTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 1
MR. DAVID L. MOODIE
MRS. ROBERT L. JOHNSON
MR. AL MCRAE
MRS. DONN R. PENNELL MR. WM. E. BERGER"
MR. JOHN THUNE" MR. ALAN C. FOLDA
MRS. CHARLES W. WICKS MR. FOY MCCOLLUM
" SUCCEEDED BY MR, GEORGE THORSON AND MRS. JOE C. WICKS FOLLOWING ELECTION APRIL 4,1978,
This is Anna Zellick visiting with Norma Hanson Gilmore, 514 Cook St., here in Lewistown. Today is May 30,1978. The purpose ofthis interview
is to review some of the highlights of Mrs. Gilmore's career. We have had a nice preliminary visit; the time has come for us to hear directly from
you, Mrs. Gilmore.
Zellick: When did you and your parents, Mr. & Mrs. H.O. Hanson, first come to Forest Grove?
Gilmore: We came in 1916 from Medina, North Dakota, where my parents lived on a farm. They sold their farm and, after arriving in Lewistown,
they went directly to Forest Grove, Montana where they started a store.
Zellick: Tell us a little about Forest Grove. There isn't much to it today. Surely, there must have been something there in 1916 or, otherwise,
settlers, including your people, wouldn't have found it attractive to locate there. Am I right?
Gilmore: Yes. I think Forest Grove, and the country around it, is very beautiful. Maybe this is a memory of my childhood that makes me feel this
way. There was a pool hall and hotel there at the time, run by the people by the name of Emison. I don't know where they are anymore. And
then there was our father's store.
Zellick: Was that a mercantile store?
Gilmore: It was a general mercantile store. And there was a post office there. And there is a beautiful little church there that is still standing.
And there was another church there, too, that was started by the Lutherans. But I do not believe that it is there anymore. I haven't been out
there for quite a while. But the little Episcopal Church still stands. It is really beautiful.
Zellick: Did you say that you also had a high school there at one time?
Gilmore: Yes, My father was on the board at the time. He thought that there were enough children around to warrant a high school, and they
wouldn't have to go to Lewistown. So they built a large school that housed the high school students with the grade school students. It is still
standing. I imagine that only a part of it is being used anymore.
Zellick: How long did you live in Forest Grove?
Gilmore: Let's see. My father and mother moved to Lewistown around 1937.
Zellick: They lived in Forest Grove all that time?
Gilmore: All that time.
Zellick: How interesting. How did you travel to Lewistown from Forest Grove in those years when you first came?
Gilmore: Well, after my father had been there a little while, he bought a car. But I'm a little ahead of myself. There used to be a train that ran
from Lewistown to Winnett, Montana and that train came through Forest Grove twice a day. That's the way we traveled before we got our car.
My sister and I used to leave F.C.H.S. at 4:30 p.m. on Fridays and get on this train to travel to Forest Grove. And then we would return on
Monday morning. We would be a little late for school, but mom would write us an excuse and that's the way we got away with it. We were
accepted that way.
Zellick: I presume this was the Milwaukee Railroad.
Gilmore: Yes, it was.
Zellick: Did this train go through Forest Grove twice a day every day of the week or on certain days of each week?
Gilmore: I think it ran twice a day every day of the week, and, as I told you, we would use it on Friday late afternoon and on early Monday
morning. You see, this was the time of the oil boom in Winnett so I'm almost sure that the trains went daily. In later years, the schedules were
changed. I believe the train service continued until about the late 1930's or maybe even the early 1940's.
Zellick: Very convenient, wasn't it?
Gilmore: Yes, it was.
Zellick: This brings you right into the topic of great interest to us here this afternoon. The train brought you here. You apparently were going to
school here in Lewistown.
Gilmore: Yes, we were going to high school, Fergus County High School.
Zellick: What years did you attend the school?
Gilmore: 1918. We were freshmen (my sister and I) both of us.
Zellick: Both of you were freshmen, I see. Your parents continued to live in Forest Grove where they were carrying on with their business, while
you stayed here in town to attend school. Could you tell us something about your living arrangements here?
Gilmore: Yes. We first lived with Reverend H. P. Crego. He taught history at the high school. And we lived with them. We had, what you call, an
apartment. We used to prepare most of our own meals in this little room. And we lived with them the first year we were in high school. I might
tell you this little incident that I think is quite apropos. I had forgotten the incident, but Crego's daughter reminded me of it in Chicago many
years later. My sister got very, very homesick, so she packed her suitcase and was walking down stairs. (We were living upstairs). Mr. Crego saw
her, and he said to her, "Where are you going?" She said, "I'm going home." "Oh, no," he said, "I don't think you better go home." And he talked
to her for quite a little while. Finally, he convinced her that she shouldn't go home. That evening he took us to a show. And that episode served
to cement our relationships. We were very happy after that. Mr. Crego was a Baptist minister, but here in Lewistown, when I knew him, he was

In this interview Lewistown resident, Norma Gilmore discusses her memories and experiences as a student in the Lewistown public schools including book burning and the burning of the high school during World War I. She also describes growing up in Forest Grove, Montana.

Creator

Anna Zellick, F.C.H.S. Graduate, 1935, University of Chicago, A.B. 1941; M.A. 1945. Lecturer, College of Great Falls at Lewistown College Center.

INTERVIEW WITH Norma Hanson Gilmore
F.C.H.S. GRADUATE 1921
MAY 30, JUNE 5,1978
BY ANNA ZELLICK
F.C.H.5. GRADUATE, 1935
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO- A.B. 1941; M.A. 1945
LECTURER, COLLEGE OF GREAT FALLS AT LEWISTOWN COLLEGE CENTER
PREPARED FOR DR. RONALD B. MAnSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND LEWISTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 1
MR. DAVID L. MOODIE
MRS. ROBERT L. JOHNSON
MR. AL MCRAE
MRS. DONN R. PENNELL MR. WM. E. BERGER"
MR. JOHN THUNE" MR. ALAN C. FOLDA
MRS. CHARLES W. WICKS MR. FOY MCCOLLUM
" SUCCEEDED BY MR, GEORGE THORSON AND MRS. JOE C. WICKS FOLLOWING ELECTION APRIL 4,1978,
This is Anna Zellick visiting with Norma Hanson Gilmore, 514 Cook St., here in Lewistown. Today is May 30,1978. The purpose ofthis interview
is to review some of the highlights of Mrs. Gilmore's career. We have had a nice preliminary visit; the time has come for us to hear directly from
you, Mrs. Gilmore.
Zellick: When did you and your parents, Mr. & Mrs. H.O. Hanson, first come to Forest Grove?
Gilmore: We came in 1916 from Medina, North Dakota, where my parents lived on a farm. They sold their farm and, after arriving in Lewistown,
they went directly to Forest Grove, Montana where they started a store.
Zellick: Tell us a little about Forest Grove. There isn't much to it today. Surely, there must have been something there in 1916 or, otherwise,
settlers, including your people, wouldn't have found it attractive to locate there. Am I right?
Gilmore: Yes. I think Forest Grove, and the country around it, is very beautiful. Maybe this is a memory of my childhood that makes me feel this
way. There was a pool hall and hotel there at the time, run by the people by the name of Emison. I don't know where they are anymore. And
then there was our father's store.
Zellick: Was that a mercantile store?
Gilmore: It was a general mercantile store. And there was a post office there. And there is a beautiful little church there that is still standing.
And there was another church there, too, that was started by the Lutherans. But I do not believe that it is there anymore. I haven't been out
there for quite a while. But the little Episcopal Church still stands. It is really beautiful.
Zellick: Did you say that you also had a high school there at one time?
Gilmore: Yes, My father was on the board at the time. He thought that there were enough children around to warrant a high school, and they
wouldn't have to go to Lewistown. So they built a large school that housed the high school students with the grade school students. It is still
standing. I imagine that only a part of it is being used anymore.
Zellick: How long did you live in Forest Grove?
Gilmore: Let's see. My father and mother moved to Lewistown around 1937.
Zellick: They lived in Forest Grove all that time?
Gilmore: All that time.
Zellick: How interesting. How did you travel to Lewistown from Forest Grove in those years when you first came?
Gilmore: Well, after my father had been there a little while, he bought a car. But I'm a little ahead of myself. There used to be a train that ran
from Lewistown to Winnett, Montana and that train came through Forest Grove twice a day. That's the way we traveled before we got our car.
My sister and I used to leave F.C.H.S. at 4:30 p.m. on Fridays and get on this train to travel to Forest Grove. And then we would return on
Monday morning. We would be a little late for school, but mom would write us an excuse and that's the way we got away with it. We were
accepted that way.
Zellick: I presume this was the Milwaukee Railroad.
Gilmore: Yes, it was.
Zellick: Did this train go through Forest Grove twice a day every day of the week or on certain days of each week?
Gilmore: I think it ran twice a day every day of the week, and, as I told you, we would use it on Friday late afternoon and on early Monday
morning. You see, this was the time of the oil boom in Winnett so I'm almost sure that the trains went daily. In later years, the schedules were
changed. I believe the train service continued until about the late 1930's or maybe even the early 1940's.
Zellick: Very convenient, wasn't it?
Gilmore: Yes, it was.
Zellick: This brings you right into the topic of great interest to us here this afternoon. The train brought you here. You apparently were going to
school here in Lewistown.
Gilmore: Yes, we were going to high school, Fergus County High School.
Zellick: What years did you attend the school?
Gilmore: 1918. We were freshmen (my sister and I) both of us.
Zellick: Both of you were freshmen, I see. Your parents continued to live in Forest Grove where they were carrying on with their business, while
you stayed here in town to attend school. Could you tell us something about your living arrangements here?
Gilmore: Yes. We first lived with Reverend H. P. Crego. He taught history at the high school. And we lived with them. We had, what you call, an
apartment. We used to prepare most of our own meals in this little room. And we lived with them the first year we were in high school. I might
tell you this little incident that I think is quite apropos. I had forgotten the incident, but Crego's daughter reminded me of it in Chicago many
years later. My sister got very, very homesick, so she packed her suitcase and was walking down stairs. (We were living upstairs). Mr. Crego saw
her, and he said to her, "Where are you going?" She said, "I'm going home." "Oh, no" he said, "I don't think you better go home." And he talked
to her for quite a little while. Finally, he convinced her that she shouldn't go home. That evening he took us to a show. And that episode served
to cement our relationships. We were very happy after that. Mr. Crego was a Baptist minister, but here in Lewistown, when I knew him, he was